Ewwiekewwieikkie stabbed at a piece of
boiled ruica with her fork, and lifted the blue vegetable in front of
her face and sighed sadly. The usually cheerful Squib had been depressed
since her sister Jelena had left nine days ago. She did not fully
comprehend Jelena's message or its political significance ... all she knew
that she was gone. She let out a tremendous sigh as she let the ruica
fall back into the bowl, before letting her blue fur covered head rest
upon her paws as she dejectedly sat at the table. Looking around with
her curious yellow eyes all she saw was the boring, metallic durasteel
of the interior of the Star Destroyer. This was a miserable experience
for her, and for the first time in her adult life she considered leaving
to rejoin her people, unaware just so how her adoptive father had
protected her from the harsh xenophobic laws of the Galactic Empire.

"Well if you're not going to eat it ... I
will!" Drusilla Rodney announced, as she reached across the table and
grabbed Ewwiekewwieikkie's bowl. Although Jelena was her sister, she
never felt particularly close to her, and viewed her decision to leave
as a renouncing of her claims to her family's titles. In her mind, one
day it would now all be hers. "You really need to cheer up, Ewwie.
You're becoming quite the bore," she said, as she began to heartily
devour the ruica that the Squib had passed on. Life aboard a Star
Destroyer frustrated her as well ... she missed her home on Esseles, and
the castle on Delaya. Everything around her seemed so drab, but her
father seemed unwilling to let her out of his sight since Jelena left.
And what was worse, the hovering presence of Major Kerrie once again
surrounded them.

Major Kerrie Kiley had only emerged from
the bacta tank two days earlier, and despite the excellent care of
Doctor Tohan she still did not feel entirely herself. The doctor had
warned her that wounds like this take time, and the mental wound would
last far longer than than the physical one. She was pleased to once
again have the Governor's confidence, and being able to do away with
Major Zevrin had given her particular satisfaction. She understood now
how much the Governor's family meant to him, and what a position of
honor it was to protect them. Still, she knew that he would never return
to his former self until Jelena was recovered, but after nine days she
could be anywhere. Everything had become quite tense aboard the command
ship, and the blockade of Esseles was threatening to destroy all of the
good will the Empire had built up in the hearts and minds of the people.
As much as she wanted to advise him of the ill effects of his actions,
she realized his mind was closed to the subject and all she would do is
risk losing her recovered position ... and so she kept quiet and minded
her place ... as she had always done.

It was then that the doors opened
revealing the presence of Grand Moff Claudius Rodney. He immediately
tensed when he saw his children, not having taken the time to fully
explain the situation to them. He did not know what to say, and said
nothing ... frozen by fear and inadequacy. He had come to see Major Kiley,
and hoped the children would have finished with their meals by now, but
those hopes had been quickly dashed. "Hello, children!" he said in a
cheerful manner that he had forced out of his lips, taking eager steps
into the room that pained him to no end. He could see how troubled
Ewwiekewwieikkie was by this, and took a few more steps until he was
standing next to her and began to gently rub her head. Drusilla,
however, seemed to be her usual self, if somewhat more reserved. "You
really should try and eat, Ewwie," he said, as he looked at the double
portion that Drusilla was consuming. To see his family so shattered
struck at the very fiber of his being, and it seemed the Rebellion had
been able to do to him with one act of betrayal what no fleet of ships
could do.

Ewwiekewwieikkie cringed when she felt
her father's touch, which usually was a source of great comfort to her.
"I am no hungry," she said, weakly, before pulling from his grasp and
moving from her chair. "I go watch holonet," she concluded abruptly, not
making eye contact with the man who had rescued her two decades earlier
during the Battle of Skor II. She thought that if she watched the
recording of Jelena enough that she might understand what she was
saying, but it seemed that it was all too much for one of her species to
comprehend. Instead of running, as she normally did, she simply slinked
out of the dining room to return to the bedchamber she shared with
Drusilla.

"She'll get over it, father" Drusilla
said, as she stuffed another piece of the blue ruica into her mouth,
before finishing both her dinner and Ewwiekewwieikkie's. "Maybe a
present might help?" she reasoned, knowing full well that the Squib
would reject the gift and it would find its way into her grasp. "I'll go
keep watch on her," she said, as she sensed an opportunity to get away
from her babysitter ... hardly a job for a Stormtrooper, she had always
thought. She had found the very notion that she even needed supervision
at this point in her life to be quite insulting, being too young and
naive to realize the full danger of her situation. Without making any
effort to clear her plates, she offered a polite smile to her father,
before making her way out of the room on the trail of her adopted
sister.

Claudius let out a relieved sigh when
both of his daughters had made a quick exit upon his arrival, and his
hands instinctively moved to unfashion his tunic. He was tired ... it had
been another long day, in a long week, in a long month, in a long year.
"Oh," he cried contently as she sat down on one of the chairs and began
to remove the uncomfortable boots from his tired feet. Once free, he
began to wiggle his toes to return the full circulation to his feet, all
the while ignoring the presence of Major Kiley. This went on for several
moments with his eyes closed as he focused on the small problems that he
could successfully deal with. "Major, please sit down," he finally said,
after what seemed like an eternity as he began to get to the reasons he
had sought her out.

"Yes, sir," Kerrie said obediently, as
she pulled out one of the durasteel chairs, and took a seat at the table
across from him. "I am afraid to report that none of our personnel on
Esseles or in the system have spotted Lady Jelena today, sir," she
reported, with some disappointment, as she feared his reaction. Esseles
had a population of 24 billion and she knew that finding one person
amongst that would be a statistical impossibility ... if she were even
still on the planet. But she dared not mention to that to him, as the
hope was the one thing he seemed to be clinging to.

Claudius instinctively clenched his fist
and slammed it down upon the table, causing the plates and glasses to
lift off the surface for a moment before slamming back down and making a
cacophony of sound that briefly filled the room. "Damn it," he cursed,
as his cheeks flushed red with anger. He lifted his hand to the bridge
of his nose and squeezed it tightly to relax himself, lowering his head
and closing his eyes. "No more of this today, Major," he said, as he
attempted to regain his faculties and shake off what she had just told
him. "That-that's not why I'm here," he explained, after a stammer, as
he refocused his attention on the carefully mimicked human face she
chose to present herself in. "I have been going through Major Zevrin's
archives, and she had a recording of your encounter with Jelena," he
said, knowing full what he was revealing to her. He drew back, waiting
for her reply, as the recording had presented him with quite the
dilemma.

For an instant Kerrie's face flickered
back to her natural, reptilian Clawdite form as she believed she had
been caught red handed. She knew full well that during her confrontation
she had admitted to having knowledge of Jelena's treachery for months,
and even killing to protect her involvement in the Rebellion. She
lowered her head, unable to look at him ... unable to speak. "Milord..." she
said, with no followthru, as she considered her next words very
carefully. "When we were reassigned to Malastare I uncovered that it was
Jelena who had provided the Rebellion with the datadisk," she admitted,
truthfully, believing that she had just sealed your death warrant. "I
could not bring myself to arrest her, because I knew that Major Zevrin
and the Imperial Security Bureau would destroy her," she said,
continuing to speak the truth, but without referencing how the ISB had
destroyed Htaere as it was still too sensitive a nerve. "I did my utmost
to deter her, to prevent her from acting, to intimidate her ... because my
primary loyalty was to you and not the Empire. I was tassked with
protecting you and your family ... from all enemies ... including the
Empire," she said, with an air of pride, as she was confident in her
actions. "I could not bring myself to shoot her. I failed you, Milord. I
failed her as well," she said, but without crying, as there was no
longer any point for tears. He already knew what she had done, and now
she had done her best to explain why.

Claudius sat there for a moment, leaning
back in his chair, and staring down his nose towards her across the
table in complete silence. He could see her trembling slightly, as if
she were a terrified animal. Without saying a word, he rose from the
table, and moved over towards her. He had nearly lost her, and was not
about to give her up after just getting her back. Unexpectedly, he
wrapped both of his arms around her, and drew her into a tight hug. His
hands moved up and down and her back to comfort her, as he respected her
for her actions and her honesty. "I see now that I chose correctly
letting you live when you tried to kill me on Ithor years ago," he said,
as he released his grasp, and sat on the tabletop next to her. "I know
that when you went to see your people you did not plan to come back, but
I am grateful that you did," he said, moving his right hand to grasp
firmly at her left shoulder. "I will neither mistreat you, nor misuse
you, going forward, Kerrie," he said, addressing her by name rather than
rank in a symbolic gesture. "You are reinstated as my adjutant. I need
you ... more than ever," he revealed to her, matching her honesty.

When the Governor embraced her she felt
the kind of safety and acceptance that she had not experienced since her
youth on Zolan before she was turned over to the Mabari. "You are my
people now, Milord," she explained vaguely, not wanting to relive the
painful memories of being banished by her people for her participation
in an Empire that was ravaging her world. "I appreciate the trust you
have placed on me, and I promise to devote my life to your continued
service, Milord," she said, as she had sucumbed completelt to the cult
of personality that surrounded the man. It was only two years ago that
she had vowed to murder him for his indirect involvement in the death of
her parents, but now she saw in him the vision of a father that she
never had. While her true family had been blasted into the stars ... this
false family she had created in her mind continued to live on and
inspired her every move. "How may I serve you?" she asked, as she
lowered her head in the manner of a suppliant.

As he watched her, Claudius still felt
she went too far in his devotion to him, but felt that he could use that
to his own advantage in due course. He dropped from the tabletop,
allowing his bare feet to touch the cold floor. "Easy, my dear," he
said, as he released his grip on her shoulder, and collected his
discarded footwear. "Bring me my daughter," he said, with his back
turned to her, as he moved from the room towards his personal chambers.
Given her past experience as a bounty hunter and an assassin he felt she
was the right person for this job. Jelena was down there on Esseles in
the clutches of the Rebellion and he feared for her very safety. Who
knew what foul intent they had for her, he thought to himself, as he
prepared to retire for the evening.

"With pleasure, Milord," Kerrie said,
rising from the table as he exited the room. She stood there for a
moment, having no idea how she was going to find one woman on a planet
of so many. She knew the limited success they had against the Rebellion,
and if they were hiding her there was little anyone could do. Still, she
had to try, and was fortunate to have considerable researches at her
disposal given the fanatical approach the Grand Moff was taking to
recover his daughter. But, privately, she knew that even that would
likely not be enough. As she exited the room she caught a glimpse of an
image that had been taken when she had returned from her trip to Zolan.
The image was the first family dinner she had been invited to and showed
the family as yet untouched by war and captured the image of a happy
Jelena less than two weeks before she became a Rebel agent. Her hand
reached for that image and she touched it for just a moment, remember
what was, but could not be again. She had lost one family to the Clone
Wars, and she did not think she could bare to lose a second family to
this Galactic Civil War. "I will find you!" she vowed as her eyes
narrowed on the image of Jelena, but her motive was not one of revenge,
but salvation.